Drying-machine



T. ALLSOP AND W. W. SIBSON.

DRYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.111.1919.

1,374,709. Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

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- Toaltwltbmitfrmycmern: 1" I Be it known that,we,'-'Tnoiras 'Ausor and WALTER W. SIBSON, citizens -.of. the Umted these various features of our inventionis @States, "residing in "Philadelphia, in the countyof Philadelphia and Stateof'Penn sylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in fDryiiig'-:Machines,

whereof the following is'a specification, ref erence being had to the accompanying draw;

I lie |invention relates to-drying machines,

and more specificall to that class of such reasons incidental to the operation of such" By this arrangement, the articles dipped by machines particular adapted for drying china, crockery, etc.

Ordinarily, machines of this type, comprise an inclosure through which the articles to be dried are carried by a slowly moving conveyor, and subjected at the same time, to

heated air circulated within the inclosure by appropriate propelling means. For various machines, it is often necessary to temporarily arrest the conveyer, 'with the result thatthe various portions of the same come to rest in close proximity to the heating devices in the drier. As a consequence, the articles supported by these portions of the conveyer would be apt to become warped or fractured if subject, for any appreciable time, to the direct action of the heat, and-it is therefore highly advantageous to maintain the circulation of the air during such suspension periods. In order to meet these essential requirements, we propose to employ a' driving system for the various moving parts of the drying machine, which comprises means whereby the activity of-the conveyer may be independently controlled without affect: ing the constant operation of the air propelling means.

The invention also comprehends mechanism whereby the direction of rotation of the air propelling means is automatically. re-

versed periodically, so that uniform drying of the articles under treatment is greatly facilitated.

A further object of the invention is to' divert a portion of the conveyer run to the exterior at the loading end of the drier insuch manner as to overhang a dipping yat for the glazing solution located at this point.-

the operative and placed upon the conveyer,

conveniently embodying our or delivery nss onons wo THE PHILADELPHIA 'nnxm o mncnmnnx courm, or- PHILADELPHIA, riiimsxLv-mn, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

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tory to entering the inclosure, and the excess solution permitted to drip back into the vat. 1

i v Specification of Letters Patent Apr. 12,192 i A 'structure conveniently embodying all',

invention are indicated 1 in nal sectional view through a drying machine 1I1YeI1tlOD..; Fig. II, is an elevation of the right hand, end of the machine. Fig. II is a partial plan view of the structure showing more particularly the driv ng gystem; Fig. I is an end elevation of the organization shown in Fig. III.

The drying machine herein illustrated is of a typical form and comprises an inclosure 1, which is traversed by a sprocket chain conveyer diagrammatically represented at 2, in dot and dash lines. The latter moves over a circuitous course under the guidance ,of-a series of rockets 3. The inclosure is internally divi ed bya transversely extending, partitioning unit 4, having a U-shaped,

cross sectional configuration, into an inner gdrying chamber 5, and channels 6, 7 and 8,

through which portions of the conveyor run extend for reasons which will become ap parent later. The inner ordrying chamber 5, is in turn spanned by a transverse partitioning unit 9', which has the same configuration as the one previously described,

but is inverted with respect thereto. By. this arrangement, the drying chamber is subdivided into a main or central compartment 10, and auxiliary passages 11, 12 and 13. Within the horizontal component 15, of the partitioning unit 9, is a rotary fan 16, under the action of which the air is propelled in divided circuits in the directions shown by the arrows in Fig. I, through the drying chamber, and over courses completed by the several auxiliary subdivisions. In order to facilitate such circulation, the structure is provided'above the fan with a transverse ridge comprising deflecting surfaces 17 and 18. Distributed at various points within the.

drying chamber are banks of heating coils 19, which are functional in modi ng the atmosphere in the chamber in a we known manner.

p The machine is operated by adriving sysa other.

tone which comprises an overhead power shaft 20, common to both the conveyer and.

drive of the conveyer may be independently controlled, the pulley on shaft 21 included in its driving connection 22 is connected to said shaft through a clutch 30, which is shiftable by means of a handle 31, extending to a point conveniently accessible to the operative.

Coming back once more to .the' circulating fan 16, it will be noted that the latter is mounted upon a vertical shaft-35, journaled in suitable bearings 36, and driven by means of bevel gears 37, from a horizontal shaft 38, the latter being provided at its outer end, as shown in Fig. IV, with two tight pulleys 39, 40, and an intermediate loose pulley 41. Through the cooperation of open and crossed belts 42 and 43, capable of being simultaneously shifted, the shaft 38, may be driven either in one direction or the For'example, when these belts occupy the position shown in Fig. IV, it will be seen that the open belt 42, is effective in driving the pulley 39, while the belt 43,

simply runs idle upon the intermediate pulley 41. When the belts are simultaneously shifted to the right, such transposition causes the crossed belt 43, to become active upon the pulley 40, and drive the shaft in the opposite direction. In order that such reversal of the drive of the shaft 38, may be periodically effected, we have provided a controlling mechanism comprehensively indicated at 44. This controlling weight 53. When the worm gear 46, is rotated in one direction, the projection 49, engaging the lever 51, from one side carries the same toward the right in Fig. IV. After reaching a position slightly beyond the vertical, the lever drops automatically to the right of its fulcrum 52. When the worm;

gear moves in the opposite direction, the projection 50,.becomes effective to shift the lever 51, to the left, with the result that the latter ultimately drops to the corresponding side of its fulcrum. These oscillations of said lever are effective upon a shifter rod 54, connected thereto at 55, and guided at its opposite end in a suspension slide bearing 56. number of prong members 57, between which the belts 42 and 43 run, and also a pair of collars 58 and 59, which pro erly limit the extent of its longitudinal'shi ting.

Referring again to Figs. I and II, it will be noted that the end walls 60 and 61, of the inclosure are res ectively provided with openings 62, 63. The opening 62, is somewhat larger than the one at the opposite end of the structure so as to permit the diversion of a portion of the conveyer run to the exterior. This extension of the. conveyer run overhangs a vat 65. Previous to mounting the articles to be dried upon the conveyer, the operative dips them into the vat 65, containing a glazing solution. The charges to be dried may be mounted on the coneyer in any approved manner, but in typical apparatusfor drying earthenware, such a con- This shifting rod 54, carries a veyer usually comprises a series of pivotally suspended carriers 66. By the peculiar disposal of the diverted portion of the conveyer run, the articles placed upon the conveyer carriers are given an opportunity to drain before entering into. the inclosure, and, further, the excess solution is permitted to drip back into the clipping vat 65. This not only entails economy in so far as the glazing solution is concerned, but, what is of more importance, prevents such excess solution from dripping from the articles upon one carrier 'to those upon another during progression through the apparatus.

The operation of the device is as follows:

As previously stated, the articles to be dried are first dipped into the vat 65, and thence placed upon the conveyer carriers 66, and under the slow movement of the conveyer gradually progressed through the inclosure 1. During such progression the conveyer charges are subjected to the drying influence of the circulated air heated by the coils 19, and propelled alternately, first in one direction as indicated by the arrows, and then conversely, over divided circuits established by the peculiar division of the drying chamber. The reversals of rotation of the fan 16, are effected by the simultaneous shifting of the belts 42 and 43, under the control of the mechanism 44.

I Thus when the shaft 38, is driven in one direction, the worm gear 46, will be rotated in a corresponding direction, while, when the belts are shifted, said shaft 38, being reversed, will cause the wheel 46, to follow suit. The duration of these alternate perlods is determined by the relative ositions of the pins 49 and 50 and their e ect upon the weighted lever 51, as already understood. By this arrangement, it will be seen that the air Within the inclosure is periodically propelled first in one direction and then in another thereby accordingly effecting variationsin the direction of impingement against the articles supported upon the conveyer. When it becomes necessary, for any reason whatever, to suspend the operation of the conveyer, this may be accomplished by simply shifting the lever 31, to disengage the clutch 30. It will be remembered that the design of the driving system of the machine is such that the operation of the conveyer may be suspended without interfering in anyway with the operation of the circulating fan 16, so that the articles supported by the portions of 4 closure.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a drying machine, the combination of an inclosure; arotary fan for circulating the air within the inclosure; a conveyer traversing the inclosure; a common driving system for said conveyer and said fan, including means whereby the movement of the conveyer may be suspended without interfering with the operation of said fan; a reversible driving mechanism for said fan comprising an actuating shaft; driving connections whereby said shaft may be rotated in either direction; and shifting devices subjectto the control of said shaft for connecting the latter alternately to 'said driving connections.

2. In a drying machine, the combination of an inclosure; a rotary fan for circulating the air within the inclosure, a conveyer traversing the inclosure; a common driv-.

ing' system for said conveyer and said fan, mcluding means whereby the movement of the conveyer may be suspended. without I interfering with the operation of said fan a reversible driving mechanism for said fan comprising an actuating shaft; driving connections whereby said shaft may be rotated in either direction; a rotative member actuated by said shaft; a lever so weighted as to be capable of falling automatically from the vertical to either side of its fulcrum under the control of the rotative member; and interposed means for connecting said shaft alternately to said driving connections under the action of said lever.

3. In a drying machine, the combination of an inclosure; a rotary fan for circulating the air within the inclosure; a reversible driving mechanism for said fan comprising a shaft having two tight pulleys and an intermediate loose pulley; an open belt and a crossed belt simultaneously shiftable in proper relation to said pulleys to cause the shaft to be rotated alternately in opposite directions; and means controlled by said shaft to cause said belts to regular intervals. i

4. In a drying machine, the combination of an inclosure; a rotary fan for circulating the air within the inclosure; a reversible driving mechanism for said fan comprising 'an actuating shaft having two tight pulleys and an intermediate loose pulley; an open belt and a crossed belt simultaneously shiftable in proper relation to said pulleys to cause the shaft to be rotated alternately in opposite directions; a worm gear driven by said shaft; a lever so weighted as to be capable of falling automatically from the vertical to a position at either side of its fulcrum; projections carried by said gear and adapted to be alternatively operative from opposite sides in moving said lever slightly beyond the vertical; and a belt shifter connected to said lever and functional in simultaneously shiftingsaid belts.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto signed our names at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this twelfth. dayof December, 1919.

THOMAS ALLSOP. WALTER W. SIBSON'.

- Witnesses:

JAMES H. BELL, E. FULLERTON. 

